August's Rumors!

"Sure are a lot of fancy-pants Pures running around lately. When did Steel Horse become a Summer vacation destination?"

 

“I could have sworn someone caught those damn bandits. But then none of them have been tried, and no justice has been done.  Guess maybe they slipped off again?”

 

“I heard that the huge gathering at Steel Horse last month riled up all the Zed in a 10 mile radius, I’d watch out if I were headed that way…”

 

"I hear the Railworkers are renegotiating their contract with The Works. Wonder if its gunna affect Steel Horse?"

 

“The bees have been acting weird lately. They’ve been following certain people.”

 

“Baby ‘Murder Birds’ are hatching.  Aren’t they?”

 

“A local scientist has been testing love potions in town.  Love potions… piffle.”

 

“I heard a group of kids ran off with the ‘Murican’s boom from splosions day and are planning on scaring that new settlement in the middle of the night.”

 

“Little Drop of Sunshine is non-addictive, we swear!  Anyone checked those drinks lately?”

 

“The local brewers are getting better by leaps and bounds.  If only they could keep the hooch stocked, they’d probably be rich.”

 

“Everything in the ground is on fire.”  

“Was on fire?  May still be on fire?”

“Let’s not test it, okay?”

 

“I heard the Saltwise from the area aren’t too pleased with people fishing their waters.  You best watch out if you’re dropping a poll in any lake ‘round here.”

 

“A local natural one tribe is looking to defend themselves from the growing raider attacks, but I’ve heard they’ve almost been wiped out.”

“Doesn’t help that some of them townsfolks took to killin some last trade.  That’s what I hear, anyway.”

 

“Ain't it about time to harvest all that stuff outta the lake? It'd be a waste if they didn't.”

“Yeh, well, they're all scared of some made-up monster they call 'Squidly'."
"Pansies. Hell, I'd go get all those cattails if I could swim!"

 

“I heard a whispering out in the woods the other night.  Friend said he went out to investigate a few nights before, and that he got frozen in place and ended up dreaming with his eyes open.  Seems like he’s been dippin in the hooch a bit heavy lately.”

 

"I hear the Roadhouse Bar is hiring!"

“I hear there’s no more Roadhouse Bar?”

 

“Did you know that the vents of fire everywhere are actually the furnace that keeps everything going?  Wonder what they use to fuel that thing…”

 

"Heard a murderbird got somebody in town, gave 'em the rot. Heard they smelled reeeeeeaaaal bad for a coupla days after that too."



"Looks like the firemines got vented. Heard some really messed up stuff was down there. Sounded worse than it’s ever been. Hope them poor folks are okay. They're heroes!"



"Careful catching the wild animals fer meats. Summa them have weird stuff in 'em."
"Like what?"

"I dunno. Like metal and stuff. Good for scrap though, I guess."


 

Downfall 2016

If you haven't been to Downfall out in New Jersey you are totally missing out! It is one of the biggest events in the network and the staff puts in a TON of work to make it worth the trip.

 

If you can afford it, go, you won't regret it!

 

http://www.dystopiarisinglarp.com/downfall-2016/

August's Event

Howdy Folks!

Our next event is in August! - https://www.facebook.com/events/1721893061413841/

Want to pre-register for our August event?  Do so here! - http://www.steelhorsecrossing.com/how-to-preregister/

Want to let us know you are coming, but pay at the door?  You can make a check-in request here - http://database.dystopiarisingnetwork.com/checkin.php?eventid=519

 

See you soon!

DR:WI at Midwinter Gaming Convention

This weekend is the last weekend before the entry rates for Midwinter go up. We will have a computer on site if you would like to sign up before the rate hike!

DR:WI will be hosting a game at Midwinter on Saturday at 2:00pm. It is a great way to try out Dystopia Rising in a climate controlled room! It's a great venue for LARPing, Tabletop gaming and all sorts of community building! Come check it out!

https://tabletop.events/conventions/midwinter-gaming-convention-2017/schedule/11

July's Rumors!

July Rumors

“Looks like it’s time for those Helldivers to jump in.  Whole town’s likely to blow if they don’t vent those holes.”

“Damn fools if you ask me.  Wonder how many they’ll lose this year?”

 “Heard Zell-Ann lost a friend in a white coat gone on over a month ago now.  Not many scientists just up and quit the ‘Works.  Wonder where that old man got off to?”

 "I heard the Navy came through and helped the town survive alotta nasty zed."
"Yeh, well, I heard they also strapped somebody to a pole and killed the heck outta 'im for breaking the law."

 "If it ain't the 'splodin train, its a case of the sick, and if it ain't that, you get attacked knocked around by an earthquake and attacked by giant chickens. That town is cursed."

 "The Roadhouse got a really real door now!"

 "The quaking and fire burping is bad this year. Cinders been comin' out of the mine now too. Bout time for them to go crack that thing open and settle this all down, ain't it?"

 "Ain't rover mating season over yet? Those scarves are pairing up all over the place!"
"Is it ever really over with those people?"

 "There's been a buncha thievin' going on in Steel Horse. Probably all those new garbage folk rollin' in."

 "What the hell are all those guys in cloaks about? One walks around sniffing like he's lookin' fer dinner and the other ones watch ya when you pee. It ain't right."

 "Investors have started moving into town. Who knows if they're legit or here to scam ya'll. Either way, they sure are waving around some big money."

 “The lake’s thawing and that means Squiddy is waking up.  Who’s Squiddy?  Good question!”

 “We saw a lot a big feathers last trade, might be about time for the Blood Raven’s ta start matin’ again.”

“Need meat, and a lot of it.  Farmers already lost whole cows and they’re runnin’ slim now.”

 “You tried that Little Drop of Sunshine drink they been sellin’ out by Town Hall?  They swear it is non-addictive, and it’s real good!”

"Oh yeah? I heard the lemonade stand is run by seditionists."
*shrugs* "Huhn.  Shame, cool drinks are gonna be needed in summer’s heat."

 “The local brewers and cooks are getting better by leaps and bounds, saved our asses last trade when the horde came roll’n though.”

 “That Marshal Sears fella has been awful shifty lately… even more full of himself that usual. Heard him mumbling ‘the priest says I’m, doing the right thing’.  That’s pretty weird if you ask me.”

 “I heard they haven’t seen the Lemon girl in 3 days, poor Jackie’s out of her mind with worry. Don’t tell her this… it’ll only break her heart… but I saw some nasty shadows leaving that camp”

 “I thought those navy psions kept the horde at bay…. Apparently it only grew…. Figures. Those damn psions draw zed like a good lamp draws moths.”

Clarification on Structures vs. Buildings

"Goal: Engineer a portable building that, with appropriate in game tags, can have barriers, doors and augments."

This, for clarification, is a structure. Buildings and structures get confused often, so I'm trying to clarify this distinction. As you've seen, new buildings are probably not likely. In this case, all buildings are structures. Not all structures are buildings.

Structures are, by definition of Building Tomorrow, an area of a certain size (maximum 10'x10'x10', or multiples therein) that can be constructed at game. Structures may have augments attached to them with the appropriate item built and installed, as long as there is enough space to accommodate such an augment. If you want, say, a bar setup with a still, this can be done with simple structures (or, the within buildings that exist). Build a structure, add a door, have enough space, build out a still and put it in place. Viola, one bar!

What you will deal with as it pertains to structures are a few potential issues:
1) Doors can be attached, yay!
2) Doors can be broken through, boo?
3) Walls cannot ever be foolproof as the walls of buildings. Unless you're in a building, your wall is unlikely to be of building quality. This means things can get through gaps, cracks, etc if able. What they can't do is just bowl them over. If you have a fence at waist height, an NPC can step over it. If you have walls with any permeable area, NPCs can get through them if they fit.
4) Ceilings - if something is coming through a ceiling, you're likely screwed, because things that come through ceilings usually do so at high velocity. But if it's a solid structure that has no way to get in, and the walls are built in such a way that there are no gaps and the like, you may keep smaller things out.
5) Floors - again, this is another WYSIWYG feature. Have a tent on the ground? Things can go right through canvas. No floor? No barrier to entry for digging things. Solid wood, metal or concrete floor? You may be safe. Maybe.

Here's the thing folks - the game is meant to be played within the system. The system specifically doesn't make "structures" super awesome because a) the system is not meant for "build giant barriers and defend yourself from within, spending no resources to stay alive", and b) the game should be played in such a way as you're looking for ways to survive, not ways to "beat the system". The creators of the game have specifically tailored the systems we play with so we can play to have fun, and ultimately play to lose (all characters die, it's just a matter of time).

That said, I highly suggest doing what's fun, and taking what's in the rules at face value. Play to lose. Do the dumb. Enjoy the Gravemind while you can - it's the only time an ST will sit with you, create specifically geared and tailored plot for you, and give you a chance to shine.

Hopefully that should answer the questions on buildings versus structures, and how they work on site.

June Rumors!

Those earthquakes are usual for the summer mines, but the pillars of fire?  That’s a new one.

Have you seen the dolls at the morgue?  Did you know they come alive and move around?

Sleeping sickness seems to be passed around by kissing boys.  Looks like half of Steel Horse is going to be knocked out part time at the rate Mac is going.

The monster in the lake is named Squiddly.  Gender unknown.

It’s warm enough that the Blood Ravens are likely heading out to feed with their young soon.  Time to get the meat ready!

Looks like the Iron Rung won’t be a thing up here after too long, the rebels are on full tilt against the Works.  Spend ‘em while you can!

The mask, the metal men, and now some freakish floppy doll-thing – I think Zell-Ann’s place is haunted.

Funny how white coats always meant scientists around these parts until all the new prospects showed up.  Now we’ve got folks being carted off by creeps.

Crafting Policies

Crafting, and how it's done:

First, a quick note as a direct copy from Michael Pucci in reference to the game materials as they stand in the book:
"If a crafter is producing materials, they need to go get their item card after the crafting is done."

In essence, every time you do a thing, you need to trek to logistics and get your card. Thinking about it, even with the weather cooperating, it's a lot less fun to run things this way when that walk is long.  So our policy is going to take on aspects of one of the other long-trek games as follows:

1) During the hours Logistics is open, you may complete one "job", or 3 blueprints, at any one visit. A job is defined as the following:
- One card worth of meal/brew, up to 10 items
(Any blueprint that produces more than 10 items is still fine for one use!)
- One weapon/armor creation
- Any/All improvements on one weapon/armor
- One Forged Item (Still, Forge, Workbench, etc.)
- One instance of farming / fishing

That means if you need to make 3 Plexi-padding to get your end-result armor, then make sure you spend the time and resources to make all four "things" appropriately, and bring both blueprints with the materials, so you can get that particular armor. One card from Logistics is the key for this - it was not meant to have those with Building Tomorrow running to Logistics every time they needed a 2 minute crafting 37 times over for a larger effort.

2) During the hours Logistics is shut down, you may produce only one of the above activities, which may be turned in once Logistics opens.

In essence, if we have to take out more than one card to complete the activity you are doing at that time, you'd need to come back a second time (or more). This is different than the general guideline above, which would have you coming to logistics every time you pumped out a single brew or meal, or each upgrade you did to a weapon.

That said, these are policies that we're modifying slightly from the way they're intended to make production a bit less annoying. There are still rules, however, and games are required to impose such rules to ensure play is fair across the network. 

May Event Rumors

The streets and trails of Steel Horse Crossing are not quiet, though they are muddy.  Citizen and traveler alike pass time with idle chatter.  If you pay enough attention, this is what you might hear…

-Every time I walk from the train station to town at Steel Horse, I feel like I'm being watched.

-The bar may soon have booze.  What a novel idea.  A bar… with booze.

-Old man in the lighthouse was telling some weird stories about the lake, seems avoiding it at night might be a good idea.

-You hear folks tried to make friends with those hooded figures?  Think they’ll be like trash pandas and more will show if you don’t drive em off?

-There's talk of electing a mayor of Steel Horse Crossing. Who's the Works gunna bribe for that kind if sucker-job?

-Sounds like lotsa work available up there in Steel Horse... mail carriers, guards, farmers, and whatever get paid really real money up there!

-My cousin's boyfriend's brother shot a deer for dinner and when he cut it open, worms and lugs fell out!

-BFG north has begun.  Seems a recruitment drive has started in Steel Horse, let’s hope the political agenda stays with the southern chapters.

-There's this new service called "the Yorkshaw". The driver says it only sets on fire every once and awhile.

-Rover War - Friction between the two biggest rover clans seems to be heating up, will the Iron Navy have to quash a blood feud?

-Heard they don’t need bolt holes at that Roadhouse. They just dive out the damn windows.

-Heard even the Iron Navy can’t seem to catch them damn Fortunate Sons. Sounds like their name’s damn accurate!

-Is it true? Do them Winfreys really think they're born from some once living God? Is that even possible? Sounds like some crazy T.V. bullshit to me.

-The skunks are terrible this time of year, shiny and stinky all rolled into one.  Yuck.

-We’re making a weather machine!  Hell, someone needs to do something to stop all this damn snow.

-Things are due to start lighting on fire soon, you sure that weather machine is a good idea?

-Spring thaws mean the coal mine fire is gonna be heating back up again.  Its a weird kinda fire that gets bigger when water gets into the ground.